With the growing popularity of ethanol and bio-diesel driving up prices of corn and soybeans, crop producers are planting more and more acres of these crops. Furthermore, with advances in seed genetics and new hybrids, yields continue to improve. The combination of these two factors has resulted in a shortage of storage facilities during the harvest season at grain elevators and refineries that produce ethanol and soy-diesel. To address the storage facility shortage, temporary or semi-permanent ground storage structures have become increasingly popular due to their relative low cost as compared to conventional grain elevators, silos or bins.
Ground storage structures generally comprise a concrete slab-on-grade surrounded by vertical sidewalls constructed of concrete, steel or timber. These ground storage structures are typically covered with a light-weight roof structure to protect the grain from the environment to minimize spoilage. The roof structures are generally comprised of steel trusses supporting fabric or plastic sheeting. The roof trusses are generally arcuate or curvilinear, but may be any other configuration, including gable or hip configurations, or any other configuration and material suitable for the span and loading conditions in the area as dictated by applicable building codes or sound engineering practices.
In addition to storing grain, ground storage structures are also commonly used for bulk storage of other granular materials for which it is desired to minimize exposure to the environment, such as, for example, road salt used in northern climates during winter months to de-ice roads and improve traction.
It should be appreciated that the majority of the cost of such semi-permanent storage structures is associated with the sidewalls of the structure, whether concrete, steel or timber. Thus, it is desirable to provide a system and method to increase the storage capacity of existing structures to avoid the need for new construction and to reduce the cost per unit of storage volume for such storage structures.